Mothballed for more than a decade, the City Park greenhouse may find new use.
A plan to rehabilitate and reuse the greenhouse was presented at a recent City Council committee of the whole meeting.
Bethany Ayers-Fisher, city sustainability manager, and Kyle Zeiber, acting director of public works, briefed council on the project.
“There’s a desire by both public works and the community to remodel the greenhouse and put this valuable asset back to community use,” Ayers-Fisher said.
No project timeline has been set, she said, but the public works department is aiming for a late 2023 or early 2024 reopening.
The reopened greenhouse would be accessible for use by city residents and community members, she said.
However, the city does not have the capacity to offer public programs, she said, so potential partners that could help with urban gardening initiatives are being identified.
A working group formed of city departments, administrators and outside organizations has started meeting monthly, she said.
Students from Alvernia University’s O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship have been tasked with developing a business plan for operating the greenhouse.
But before the greenhouse can reopen, it must be brought up to usable standards.
The facility was assessed by Cedarville Engineering Group of Pottstown, a firm that specializes in environmental engineering services, Zeiber said.
Cedarville found multiple repairs are needed inside and out. These include replacing some glass panels and upgrading the mechanical systems, including the ventilation system.
“The assessment that we have from Cedarville was pretty much what we thought,” Zeiber said, noting the project will cost about $1.29 million, not including engineering and design costs.
Ayers-Fisher said partial funding for the renovation could come from grants.
Frank Denbowski, Mayor Eddie Moran’s chief of staff and interim city manager, noted some money likely would need to be added to the capital budget, since many grants require a financial match.
American Recovery Plan funds should be considered for the project, Councilwoman Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz said.
Reading received more than $61 million from the plan passed by Congress last year and signed by President Joe Biden.
“That’s for legacy projects,” she said. “It’s to be rebuilding infrastructure within the city. That is exactly what this (the greenhouse) is.”
Councilwoman Donna Reed agreed.
As a first step, Ayers-Fisher said, the city is digging into historical and engineering records to gain a better understanding of the building’s construction and past and how it could be operated successfully.
The first City Park greenhouse complex was built about 1886, she said, and contained multiple structures.
The current greenhouse was built in 1926 and used to grow flowers for planting in the city’s parks.
The last major investment in the greenhouse was made in 1990, when the facility was repaired and upgraded, she said.
Funding for that project was raised by the now-inactive Friends of the Greenhouse.
Goodman-Hinnershitz and Reed hope a similar group will be formed by community members interested in helping with the current project.
Those interested in helping with the project should email Ayers-Fisher at Bethany Ayers-Fisher@readingpa.gov.
Source: Berkshire mont
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